


The Witching Hour

by IAmTM



Category: Mamamoo
Genre: F/F, Magic, Supernatural - Freeform, Witchcraft, moonsun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:02:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24711286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmTM/pseuds/IAmTM
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Yongsun promised a witch her firstborn to get out of a life and death situation. 15 years later, the witch returns to collect the debt.
Relationships: Kim Yongsun | Solar/Moon Byulyi | Moonbyul
Comments: 73
Kudos: 185





	1. At First

1700…  
  


The sun’s probably already down. If only Yong could see outside but it had been darkness for quite a while now.  
  


1702…

It might as well be darkness for two hours or two days. Her eyes were starting to see shapes in the absence of light. Could it be she’s acquired super powers while being stuck in the basement of a wooden cabin deep in the woods? Most likely not, but it’s better to imagine that than imagine dying alone in the dark.

1706...

And it’s also starting to get cold again. She knew that the sun had probably went up and down judging by the changes in temperature. She should have worn another layer like she originally intended but it’s the first time that the “cool kids” invited her to join in anything and she thought one less layer could mean they’d stop calling her a prude.

1708…

Ofcourse, they didn’t. The moment she arrived one of the girls already asked the others why she was even there. She should have walked away but it’s her pride that kept her rooted on the spot. Her pride that made her get in that car. Her stupid pride eventually got so hurt that she hit one of the girls who called her “fat cheeks”. She wished her pride could also get her out of the stupid dark basement.

There is no pride where she was.

She could even smell her own piss mixing with the smell of anxiety. She gagged and prayed that she’d get used to it soon.

1800 seconds.

Another 30 minutes had come and gone. She’s been counting in 30 minute intervals because there’s nothing more to do. Her nails were in a sorry state due to her clawing at the wooden trap door above her head that just wouldn’t budge. Her throat was raw from screaming and she truly could use a glass of water. She’d give up her first born just to get out of the basement and have a glass of water.

“Here.” A voice to her left said. She reached out to touch cool glass. Something wet sloshed over her hand.

Water.

“Thanks!” Relief washed through her as water soothed her parched throat and filled her tummy. She’s hungry and desperate and the glass of water was like a lifeline. When she realized she wasn’t alone she started screaming partly in surprise but mostly in terror. Her life had barely begun. She’s only fifteen and hadn’t even gone outside of Korea yet. She’d barely been out of Seoul in that matter. There were so many things that she wanted to do and places to go before she died.

“Please please let me out! I’m not gonna press charges. Just let me out of here.” She cried.

A flash of light blinded her. It took a while before her eyes adjusted to the light. When they did, she found herself staring at an unfamiliar face. The girl in front could be just about the same age as Yong. The girl’s clean face and clothes were out of place in the dirt encrusted basement. In her grip she held an old fashioned lamp.

“I could help you.” The girl had her free hand in front of her as if trying to appease Yong.

“Where are the others?” Yong’s voice involuntarily trembled.

“What others?” A genuine look of confusion marred the newcomer’s expression.

“Jimin and her gang?”

“I don’t know any Jimin.”

Yong sobbed. There’s a possibility that this girl would really help her.

“Where did you come from?”

“I live around here.”

“Let me out of here please.”

“Ok. In one condition.”

“What?”

“You give me your firstborn.”

The girl must be out of her mind to still dole out jokes at a time like that but Yong had met crazier people. People like Jimin and her friends who were maybe willing to leave Yong trapped in a basement forever.

“Sure. They’re yours. Just let me out.”

And just like that the trapdoor above her opened violently. Walking on wobbly feet, Yong stepped into a well lit cabin. She couldn’t remember the cabin being so nice. In fact she assumed it was just a storage space with all the boxes that she saw when they first arrived but now the boxes were nowhere to be seen instead there was a cozy living space and an adjoining kitchen that has a table full of food. Yong ran to the table and gobbled up anything she could fit in her mouth.

“Is there anything else that you need?”

“Yeah.” Yong swallowed the too big chunk of meat she was chewing. “I need to let my sister know where I am.”

“Ok done.”

“How did you...” Blood spurted out of a broken thumb nail when she tried to press on her Nokia 3310 that ran out of batteries hours ago. Pain shot up and down her arm making her drop it. Quickly, she bent down to save her one and only means of communication to the people who could take her away from the place. She must have lifted her head up too fast after because she suddenly felt lightheaded. The last thing that she saw before succumbing to utter darkness was the face of her savior leaning down to check on her.

  
  
  
  


Voices. A gaggle of voices became too much to bear for Yong’s sensitive ears that she shot up in an attempt to shut them out. A strong pair of hands stopped her.

“You’re ok. You’re ok. Shhh.” Her mom’s voice soothed her to calmness.

“Mom?” She broke out in sobs.

“I’m here and Yonghee too.”

She was apparently found unconscious in a cabin that’s being used as storage after being missing for three days. The girls who pranked her were in a car accident and were in the worst condition thus preventing them from telling others about her location. By some miracle she was able to break out and text her sister about her whereabouts before falling out of consciousness.

“Where is she?”

“Your classmates are still in critical condition dear.”

“No. The girl who saved me. Where is she?”

She heard her mom draw in a breath.

“I think you still need more rest, my love. We found you alone.”

  
  
  
  


Days turned into weeks which turned into months which turned into years, the face of the girl that saved Yong still haunted her dreams.

She might as well have imagined that person up into existence as her doctor wanted her to think in an attempt to rationalize the situation. It was magical, she told them. She was saved by a powerful being who opened the trap door without touching it. A girl who contacted Yong’s sister without touching her phone. Ofcourse, nobody believed her. They said she just conjured an image of a saviour because she was in a desperate situation in which she couldn’t find a way out. In time, she believed them but it doesn’t mean she stopped dreaming about HER.

Building relationships had been difficult for her since then. Trust issues amongst others made it difficult for her to connect with someone. Even purely physical relationships didn’t appeal to her. She couldn’t bear being touched and darkness scares her like nothing else. So even quick trysts were a no no.

Her keyboard clacked as she tried to finish her monthly report as quickly as humanly possible. It’s not like she had plans but her dog needed her to be home an hour ago. She’s late for their nightly walk. Jjing Jjing would surely be mad at her. Her pet was the only consolation that she had in her sad life. She couldn’t bear being a disappointment to her too.

“Come on. Come on. I need to go see my baby.” She urged her printer to spew out the printed report faster like it’s going to help. She’s a manager for a publishing company. She works with writers, advertisers, and editors. Mostly quiet people who only want their items to be put out there. It’s not an exciting job and Yong is content with it.

At last the printer stopped it's electronic humming.

“Yes!” Yong posted the printed page for everyone to see by the time they come in the office the next day. “Jjing, here I come.”

  
  
  
  


“Jjing is a puppy?” A woman stooped down to look inside the stroller Yong was pushing. Jjing decided she had enough of the walk and whined until Yong placed her in the stroller.

“Excuse me?” It’s almost 8PM and the retirement village that Yong lives in had its streets almost deserted.

“I thought Jjing was a baby.” The woman straightened, the baseball cap that covered her face earlier was taken off to reveal an open face. Her mono lidded eyes pierced Yong’s with an almost accusatory glare.

“Jjing is a baby.”

“But not a human baby.” The woman was shaking her cap at Yong direction.

“Why would it matter if she’s a human baby?”  
  


“Because you promised me?!” The stranger moved closer to Jjing.

“Lady, I don’t know who you are.” Yong snatched Jjing out of the stoller and held her close to her chest. “But, I will not hesitate to harm you if you touch my Jjing.”

Without looking back Yong ran away with Jjing and the stroller in tow.

“You shouldn’t back off a promise if you know what’s good for you.” Yong found herself looking at the same stranger again a few days later. She was in bed reading a romance novel(they were the only thing that made her feel alive). Her loud blood curdling scream woke up her elderly neighbors and brought the village police at her door. They found no trace of the woman at all.


	2. Wait A Second

“Mom, I swear it was the same girl.” Yong scrunched her eyes close. “She’s more of a woman now, of course, but I swear it’s the same twinkling eyes, the same lovely rosebud mouth, and delicate clear skin that I saw when I was younger. She’s stalking me!”  
  
  
  
“Calm down.” Yonghee pulled her sister down into a hug. “Is there any stress at work lately? It seems like this ‘woman’ appears whenever you are stressed. Remember your college entrance exam week hell? You saw her then too.”  
  
  
  
“Yes, she told me to go get them tiger. Whatever that meant?” She clung to her sister tightly.  
  
  
  
“I think you need to see your doctor again, my love.” Her Mom said while cutting up some fruit for Yong to enjoy.  
  
  
  
“I’m not crazy, I swear.” Yong stuffed a persimmon in her mouth. The juice leaked out of the corner of her lips.  
  
  
  
“Nobody’s saying you were.” Yonghee reached out to wipe the errant juice away. “Just go see the doctor. Do you want to stay with me so this woman won’t terrorise you anymore? Maybe if you have someone with you she’ll stop.”  
  
  
  
The offer sounded good but Yonghee already had a family of her own and Yong didn’t want to be a bother.  
  
  
  
“No. Thank you, Big Sis, but I’ll just go see the doctor.  
  
  
  
“I love you Kim Yong Sun.” Her mother joined their hug.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Yong tried dating to put her mind off her stalker. It didn’t work. Ofcourse.  
  
  
  
She’s left with more disappointment than hope with all the men and women she’d seen. Yong was not choosy at all but everybody just weirded her out or vise versa.  
  
  
  
There was one who wasn’t pushy. He was sweet and caring but Yong couldn’t even bring herself to kiss him on the cheek or even just hold his hand. She made a decision to break up with him because she felt bad for him.  
  
  
  
“That bad, huh?” Yong didn’t even flinch.  
  
  
  
“You are just in my imagination so why not just talk to you.” She turned to face the woman who was seated beside her on a marble bench overlooking a fountain. The waters were dancing in time with some soft music and lights. It was beautiful. Magical even. A very fitting background to a magical meeting. “How have you been?”  
  
  
  
“I-I h-have been f-fine.” The woman was taken aback by Yong’s willingness. She stuttered out her answer.  
  
“You are fine alright.” Yong smirked. Her eyes raked her companion up and down in approval. “How do you do it?”  
  
  
  
“Do what?”  
  
  
  
“Appear and disappear just like that?”  
  
  
  
“I… uhm… I am magic?”  
  
  
  
“Why are you asking me? Decide whether you are magic or not.”  
  
  
  
“I am magic.”  
  
  
  
“That’s good.” Yong’s doctor would be proud of the other woman’s progress. “The first step in recovery is to address the issue.”  
  
  
  
There was a pregnant pause between them as Yong closed her eyes and hoped for the apparition to disappear when she opened them again.  
  
  
  
“You’re still here.” Yong moved her face closer to the other woman’s who quickly stood up.  
  
  
  
“Huh? Oh. Yeah. I need to talk to you. It’s kind of urgent.”  
  
  
  
A couple of highschool kids ran in between them disrupting the talk.  
  
  
  
“Let’s go somewhere more private.”  
  
  
  
  
  
  
There was nowhere more private than Yong’s own home. It was strange how she wouldn’t even let the people she was dating to know where she lived but she willingly brought the woman back to her place. It could be because she reminded Yong of salvation each time she sees her.  
  
  
  
Jjing was already sleeping soundly in her dog bed. Too exhausted by the long walk that they took with her visitor.  
  
  
  
“So, you are telling me you really need my firstborn.”  
  
  
  
“Yes.”  
  
  
  
“That’s bad. It’s even evil.”  
  
  
  
“Well… you can’t say it’s evil.”  
  
  
  
“You’ll be taking my child.”  
  
  
  
“Consider it an adoption.”  
  
  
  
“But they’re mine.”  
  
  
  
“Not anymore. You promised them to me in exchange for your life. You do understand that you were to die that day, right? But you were thinking of going out of Korea and all the things you wanted to do. You were so loud. I was surprised some bigger entity hadn’t come for you. As for me I need somebody to pass my powers to. So win win situation.”  
  
  
  
Yong contemplated the issue. She had so many apprehensions. What if the witch sacrifices her child? People are the worst. They do bad things to other people. She’s not even sure if witches were people.  
  
  
  
“Are you going to eat my child? Coz I won’t stand for…”  
  
  
  
The woman in front of her slammed her fist at the table and all the lights inside Yong’s house flickered on and off rapidly. Yong watched the woman's face contort into a grotesque mask of anger. She looked like something not human at all.  
  
  
  
“Do not test me, woman. I am a witch not a monster.” It wasn’t just a single whispered voice that leaked out of the witch’s mouth but that of multitudes.  
  
  
  
Yong froze in fear and she started crying. When she opened her eyes again… she was alone.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
That night, Yong didn’t sleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
Her doctor advised her not to consume any entertainment with a fantasy genre for a while. She advised on consuming feel good entertainment. For Yong this meant pet videos, DIYs, and TMIs. She forgot about the witch in no time. She only ever appeared in Yong’s dreams but she’s quiet and mostly in the background.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
“I’m sorry about my behavior.”  
  
  
  
Yong dropped the persimmon she was lowkey squeezing at the farmer’s market. Instead of being squashed at her feet, the fruit floated and settled with the other fruits in her cart. Yong gaped at it like a fish.  
  
  
  
“You look stupid. Stop that.” It’s the witch. She’s back just when Yong thought she finally therapied the shit out of her system.  
  
  
  
“Only you can say your apologies then insult somebody in a single breath.” Yong was annoyed. How dare the witch scare her like that then insult her. “Go away.”  
  
  
  
“Ok, sorry again.”  
  
  
  
Then she was really gone. It annoyed Yong more.  
  
  
  
“Come back, you fool.”  
  
  
  
“But you asked me to go.”  
  
  
  
“You always do what people ask you to?” Yong huffed and pushed her cart away dully expecting the witch to follow her. Thankfully, the dolt did.  
  
  
  
“Ofcourse. It’s in The Witch’s Code. Only take those that were given willingly and never push.” It’s a loaded statement. The witch knew where to poke the bear.  
  
  
  
“Self-righteous bastard.” Yong muttered under her breath but the witch only shrugged.  
  
“If I give you my child, do you promise to take care of them and do what’s best for them?” They were in the middle of a market but Yong was sticking her pinky out for the witch to take.  
  
  
  
“I promise.” The witch faced Yong and linked her own pinky with her. There was a slight warming where their flesh met. Yong saw a thin red band of char mark around her little finger when they let go. Her pinky smelled like burnt flesh but it didn’t hurt. She could see the witch had the same mark as her.  
  
  
  
“Excuse me, lady.” Yong stopped an elderly shopper. “Can you tell me what color this woman’s sweater is?  
  
  
  
The old woman with a kind face squinted at the witch’s direction.  
  
  
  
“She’s wearing a lovely yellow sweater. It’s too big for her. Please buy her another pair in medium.”  
  
  
  
“Thank you, Ma’am. I will buy her all the yellow sweaters, in all sizes as she pleases.” Yong’s face could split in two because she was smiling too widely. When the old woman walked away Yong stepped into the witch’s personal space for a long tight hug.  
  
  
  
“What’s that for?” The witch looked at Yong oddly when she was finally let go.  
  
  
  
“You were real all along and I never thanked you for saving my life back then.”  
  
  
  
“I don’t like the way you are looking at me. I only saved you because you promised me your child. Don’t get any ideas.”  
  
  
  
“Shut up! I’m only happy to have proven to myself that I wasn’t crazy.”  
  
  
  
“We can’t be too sure about that.” The witch’s smile was too infuriating that Yong just had to hit her arm. Yong was left coughing when the witch decided to leave a lot of smoke behind when she disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	3. The Rule Of Thirds

“Hit me again and I’ll break your arm.” The witch found out that Yong liked to hit people when she’s irritated. Or when she’s annoyed. She found that Yong just enjoyed hitting her. 

“Stop being annoying then.” 

“I wasn’t doing anything.”

“You left me like a fool talking to myself at a bookstore just last week.”

“You hit me. I was mad. I wanted to smite you and I cannot smite the would-be mother of my child so I thought it was better for me to go.” 

“A warning would have been nice.”

“You not hitting me would be nice too. You hitting on me would be better.”

“Hey! You’re gross, but I’m sorry.” Yong plated the tteokbokki she was heating. “Do witches eat?”

“Duh. Ofcourse. We’re humans. With human needs.” The witch speared a fish cake and munched on it. Quietly enjoying the lull. 

“I never knew your name.” Yong said under her breath. 

“Just fair. I don’t know your name too. Besides witches never reveal our real names because there is power in names.” 

“My name is Yong.” A pause. Yong lifted Jjing onto her lap. The puppy yelped happily. “It’s awkward. You being nameless, I mean, even pets have names.”

“You can call me whatever.” 

“How about Byul?” Yong wasn’t gonna tell the witch she chose the name because of how the witch’s eyes sparkle whenever she’s happy or just smiling. 

“Ok. Sounds cool.” 

And there it was... the sparkle. 

  
  
  
  


The clinic that Yong called about insemination was fully booked. People had the need to make sure their child is the best so that more and more couples seek the help of a doctor to choose the best cell specimens to be their offspring. The cost was of course steep but she’s sure that the witch would help her with it. 

“Insemination won’t do, I think.” Byul was playing with Jjing after their daily walk. The dog and the witch had bonded over when Yong’s schedule prevented her from coming home earlier than 12 AM during a particularly busy work week. Byul had taken on the responsibility of walking Jjing then and it had somehow continued on after that. The witch would sometimes just appear and walk Jjing with or without Yong. “The child needs to be conceived with love.”

“What?!” Yong slammed the book she was reading shut. “Who made these rules? It’s the freakin’ 21st century.”

“For magic to be passed on. The vessel needs to be filled with love.” Byul shrugged and tossed the ball at Jjing again. “So, the child needs to be conceived with love and hosted in a loving environment. Don’t worry about the hosting just worry about conceiving.”

“That’s too much work.”

“Isn’t that just called responsible parenting?”

The witch was right but it stressed Yong out more. 

“I have a confession.” Started Yong. 

Byul perked up in attention. 

“I have never had a physical relationship with anybody.” A healthy blush crept up Yong’s ample cheeks. “I am afraid of physical contact and the dark. I can only hug my Mom, Dad, and big sister. Others I can’t bear to even hold hands with.”

“You hugged me and I’m not family.”

“You’re my witch. You want something from me so you have to take care of me. That doesn't count.”

“But it’s a start. Maybe we just need to find somebody you trust enough.”

“Can you help me?” Yong laced their fingers together on top of the table. “I think I need a little help in getting over my fear of physical contact first.” 

“How can I help?” Byul adjusted so they can hold hands more comfortably. 

“Like that. That would do.” 

  
  
  
  


The Kim sisters had always been close but Yong’s brush with death had made them closer still. They made it a point to see each other every two weeks just to keep up with each other’s lives. Yong would babysit her sister’s daughter on occasion too but not without difficulty. After her talk with the witch, however, she became more curious with children. 

“Are you getting baby fever sis?” Yonghee hands her sister a plastic bottle with juice. Yong made a move to drink it. “Hand it over to Wheenie that’s not for you.” 

“Sorry. What are you talking about?” Yong carefully closed the nipple over the bottle before handing it over to her niece who readily accepted it with chubby hands. 

“You’ve been looking at your niece funny since you arrived.” 

It’s a dilemma. Yong wanted to tell but at the same time she doesn’t want her sister to worry or worse think that she’s crazy. But she also felt like she’s gonna burst if she didn’t tell anyone. 

“I met someone.”

“Come again?” That got Yonghee’s full attention. 

“I met someone and they’re very much interested in my firstborn.” Fully aware that Yonghee got the idea wrongly but for Yong it was better than admitting she was to give up a child to a witch. 

“Yongddun, I know you are not getting any younger but isn’t it too early to be talking about having babies. I mean I’m sure you haven’t been seeing them for that long since I’m only hearing about this now?” Wheein started gnawing on her bottle, her mother gave her a chilled teething ring instead. 

“I’ve known her for a long time. We reconnected recently.”

“An old college girlfriend? You had those?”

“More like middle school.”

“Oh no. Those girls were bad news.”

“She’s not from the same school.”

“KIM YONGSUN! Never thought you had it in you that early.” Yonghee’s chuckle was contagious, Yong found herself laughing. “But seriously sis even then it’s too soon. Maybe I should meet her.” 

“I don’t know.”

“Ok. Whenever you’re ready then.” Yonghee handed Yong a plate of carrots to nibble on. 

  
  
  
  


The pile of folders that Byul hoisted on top of Yong’s desk rivaled the height of her actual work items. Work items that were all due by the end of the week.

“What are these, Miss Byul?” Yong poked one of the folders with her pencil. It contained some sort of resumé. “Are we hiring?”

“Those are partner candidates for you.” Byul plonked down on a sofa in Yong’s home office. The office was Mrs. Kim’s idea. Yong’s mother believed it was bad Feng Shui to do work anywhere else in the house rather than the office. “I did background checks for you.”

“I am too busy for these today or tomorrow. In fact, I’d be busy for the entire week.” 

Byul’s grunt of disapproval was muffled by a throw pillow she buried her face in exhaustion. 

“You’ve been saying that everyday.” 

“You can always look for another surrogate.” 

“If it were that easy I would have done it yesterday.” Byul raised the pinky with their promise mark. Yong felt hers burn. The pain gradually got so bad she thought it reached bone. 

“Stop it! Witch, stop this.” Yong threw a soft bound book in the witch’s direction. It found its mark and the pain Yong was feeling stopped. “You’re so dead!” 

Byul threw the pillow at Yong but it didn’t stop the angry woman from advancing on her. 

“You disrespectful little punk.” A number of light blows landed on Byul’s shoulder. “I am older than you. Why are you comfortable being a nuisance? I would eventually come to and read those. Why couldn’t you wait a little.” 

“We’ve been at it for 5 months and you haven’t dated anyone. You haven’t even gone out for drinks even once. Not even a milk tea date. And I know you love your milk tea. You made me buy you cup after cup.” Byul raised both her arms to shield her face from the hits, completely forgetting she had powers to stop Yong. Eventually she got tired shielding herself and yanked Yong forward. A shriek escaped Yong’s lips as she landed in a heap of limbs with the witch on the sofa.

She felt her chin hit something hard making her neck snap back. It was the witch’s forehead. They both yelped in pain with Yong melting in Byul’s embrace going half unconscious. When she fully came to she found the two of them in an awkward position. Yong was flushed on top of the witch who was also coming back into consciousness. She extracted herself from between the other woman’s legs, careful not to hit anything else. Byul was groaning when she opened one of her eyes. 

“Do not move. Do not get up. I’ll call for help.” 

“Yes Ma’am.” Byul slurred. 

They found themselves in the hospital the morning after. They both suffered mild concussions and were advised to rest, avoid vigorous physical activities, eat right, and hydrate. 

“Do you have somebody with you at home?” They were waiting for their rides outside the hospital since they were not allowed to drive. 

“No. It’s ok. I’m already trying to heal myself little by little.” Byul swayed a little and Yong was quick to steady her.

“Little by little?”

“Yeah.” Byul clutches at her head. The bump on her forehead was thankfully covered by her bangs. “I can’t really use magic when I’m not feeling well.” 

“Oh.” One of the taxis arrived. It was Yong’s. “Do you want to crash at my place for a while? We can go to your house first, get your things. It really can’t be the other way around because of Jjing.”

“Who’s looking after Jjing-Jjing now?” A genuine look of concern passed Byul’s face.

“Nobody. But it was only for one night. It’s ok.” Yong shrugged. “I left her everything she might need.” 

“You’re gonna be a great mother.”

The rest of the taxi ride to the witch’s place was spent in silence. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pls tc of me 🥺


	4. Go Forth And Multiply

It’s a warm Saturday night. A perfect night for a date but Yong is at her wits end. She couldn’t seem to find the perfect dress nor could she find anything else that she needs. 

“Calm down, woman.” Byul chose outfit after outfit for her to approve. 

“Can’t you just magic something for me?” 

“Concussion, remember?”

It was true. Even Yong’s head was still not fully healed. She massaged her temples in a circular motion. 

“Come here.” Was a small whisper. Byul held Yong’s head gently. Warmth started to spread gradually from Byul’s hands to Yong’s cheeks until it pooled at her temples completely easing the pain. After doing it, Byul collapsed against Yong. 

“Hey.” Yong gathered the other woman on her lap. “You didn’t have to do that. You’re not well yourself.”

“But you can’t go on your date unwell.” It was murmured against Yong’s neck. 

Yong didn’t answer. Instead Byul heard her tapping on her phone. 

“I told him I couldn’t make it. And that we should reschedule.”

Byul’s small “no” was nearly inaudible because she’s too weak. Using magic drained her in her weakened state enough to knock her out. 

  
  
  
  


The date eventually happened and it was better than most dates Yong’s ever had but there wasn’t any spark. Yong’s not about to give it up on something lackluster. 

“We have 299 more candidates.” Byul bit on the pencil that she’d been using to scribble notes on the guy’s biodata.

“Can we narrow it down more? 299 dates sound exhausting.” 

“We would have done it if you weren't ‘busy’ all the time.” They quarreled the whole while sifting through the candidates. 

  
  
  
  


It was a surreal experience to be surrounded by witches of all forms. Yong clung to Byul’s arm the moment they stepped into the convention. 

A woman wearing heavy eye makeup and grandiose attire approached them. She had a heady aura like she’s surrounded by a heavy cloud. Yong stared at her slack jawed and realized that she just found the woman extremely sexy and her body’s reacting to her proximity. 

“What do we have here?” The stranger drawled. Her pointer finger shamelessly tipped Yong’s chin up. 

“Back off, Hwasa.” Byul swatted the woman’s fingers away seeing how Yong just froze in place due to the touch. “And lay low with that sex spell please. I can sense it from the entrance.”

“Spoil sport.” Huffed Hwasa. And just like that, she transformed from a diva into a twenty something in tight jeans, loose shirt and high heels. Still beautiful but no longer reeking of sex. 

“You can do that too?” Yong asked Byul. Curiosity eating at her. 

“It’s possible? Why?” Byul recoiled at the look that passed Yong’s face. “Do not get any ideas! I’m not turning you or me into some sex goddess.”

“I’m just curious how you’d look.”

“Ugh.” Byul facepalmed. “Maybe later.”

“Kinky.” Hwasa snickered. “Introduce me to your girlfriend please, unnie.”

“She’s not…”

“I’m not…” 

The two women shared a look when they heard each other answer simultaneously. 

“This is Yong. Yong this is Hwasa or that’s what she told me.” Both the introduced women bowed. “And call me Byul for the time being.” 

“Ok. Byul unnie.” Inquiring eyes raked Yong from head to toe. Yong suddenly felt very exposed in her sundress. “So Yong unnie, do you want a tour? I’m sure miss Byul has some business to attend to given her position in this coven.” 

Byul nodded when Yong asked if it was okay for her to go with Hwasa. The two women started off with the topic of Hwasa’s name and if she got ideas of it from a snake. 

  
  
  
  


Hwasa showed Yong around the convention. The stadium was definitely bigger inside. Outside it simply looked like an arcade with a few stores. Being there was decidedly better than staying at home and poring over date profiles.

Yong’s eyes widened at the size of the lake inside. There were some children playing in the water and by the shore.

“Those are vessels?” Yong asked.

“Unnie what the fuck?” Hwasa eyed Yong suspiciously. “They’re kids.” 

“Witches kids?” 

“Yeah, witches kids. Where have you heard of vessels?”

“Well Moonbyul…”

“Oh.” Hwasa’s eyes widened. “Oh! You’re a Provider.”

“A what?”

“I genuinely thought you’re Byul’s girlfriend by the way you’re clinging to her.” Hwasa shook her long black curls. “Amazing. She brought her Provider to a witch convention.”

“All of you have Providers?”

“Well yeah, Unnie.” Hwasa’s eyes were suddenly downcast. “Magic renders all witches sterile. Byul didn’t tell you?” 

Yong shook her head, negative.

“Make her buy you everything you like here.” Both women laughed and shared a high five. Yong didn’t even flinch at the contact.

  
  
  
  


The stuff that Yong bought and made Byul buy at the convention were abundant. They’re mostly magical things for the baby.

“Unnie, you sure she’s just your Provider?” Hwasa glanced at the mountain of items floating behind them on their way out. 

“You set her up with these purchases? Stop playing innocent.”

“Well, the witch’s way is oftentimes just hit and run. More mafia style. We go to our Providers when their firstborns are born. We remind them of their promise. Coerce them a little if necessary then boom take the child and make them forget.” Hwasa thought Byul would know, given that she’s being groomed as the next Malefica Supera.. 

“Yes, Hwasa. I am aware of how things are often done.” 

“Then why?”

“There are many ways to skin a cat.”

“Unnie, why would you want to skin a cat?”

Byul rolled her eyes at her dongsaeng. “I didn’t tell her that she’d forget she’d ever had a child.” 

“Oh, unnie. You are still very much a witch. I am sorry for doubting you.”

Byul shrugged. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot chickens. 😂


	5. Take Five

They hadn’t seen each other for a couple of months. Byul had a trip to Europe with other witches. To brush up on the Western methods of the arts and to share the Eastern methods as well. Byul was enjoying the trip too much to even worry about Yong’s dating life or lack thereof. There was much magic to be learned. Magic is Byul’s first love. The one thing she couldn’t live without. She thoroughly enjoyed all her training with her mother. No matter how hard it had been. She had experienced literally crawling to learn it. One instance brought her to a cavern with only a crawl space to reach a magical stone. Her eyes watered at the memory of the task and of her late mother. 

Her phone buzzed. It was Yongsun sending an emoji of a plate of spaghetti. A few moments after Yong’s message came. 

_ ‘Made this for Eun Seong ㅋㅋㅋ’ _

Eun Seong recently had a baby. She and Yong work together at the publishing house but only got closer recently . 

Byul decided to contact her friend via video call while preparing her night time tea. Yong answered and introduced her to Eun Seong and the baby who was busy sucking from his mother’s tit. 

“How are you going to do that?” Yong teased Byul, pointing at the feeding baby, making the witch roll her eyes at the ridiculousness. The other woman’s crisp laughter caressed Byul like a comforting hug. 

“I miss you.” She carelessly threw the sentiment. 

“Aw, I miss you too.” Yong moved to prop the phone on a tripod and took the satiated child from his mother. “You wanna see something cool?”

Byul followed Yong’s movement as she settled the baby on her shoulder. They continued to catch up until the baby made a face then a sound. 

“Did you hear that? He burped.” Delight was evident in Yong’s voice. She brought the baby back to his mother and gave the tandem a hug. Byul was more impressed by the hug than by the burp. 

“Yeah. I heard that. I’m proud of you.” 

Yong’s eyes disappeared into crescent shapes when she gave Byul a scrunched up smile. 

“Oh. By the way I’m on #90 on our list.” 

Byul choked on her tea.

“How’s that possible? I’ve only been gone a couple of months.” 

“I sometimes see two in a day.” Yong picked up her things and said her goodbyes to Eun Seong ang her son. “I am effective like that.”

“I don’t think that’s how you fall in love.” The witch believed she knew everything about falling in love. The moment she casted her first spell she felt that stirring and by doing it again and again she slowly fell in love with magic. “You have to give it time to grow. You won’t know them very well by speed dating them.” 

“Don’t love hit you full force when you meet the right person?” There were two taxis that stopped for Yong when she hailed. Adjusting her earpods, she got into one and instantly sunk onto the seat. “I fell in love with Jjing the moment I saw her.”

“Jjing is different. She’s a familiar of some sort.” Byul’s own familiar. A fat dog, who’s currently at The Council because of her absence, was a case of love at first sight. “It’s very rare for people to fall in love in that way.” 

A deep sigh escaped Yong’s lips. “This falling in love business is hard work. You better have a present for me when you get back.” 

“We’ll see about that.” Byul’s eyes strayed to the small pile of presents she had bought for Yong and the would-be child and glared menacingly at her phone camera. 

  
  
  
  


The shriek that Yong let out scared her staff. They were on their lunch break and everyone was waiting for lunch delivery when their boss made a loud racket. It got everyone craning their necks over their cubicles. If the shrieking didn’t surprise them enough, the fact that their manager had a handsome woman-caller did the trick. 

Their usually quiet head-honcho was giggling at whatever was inside the bag that the newcomer held. Curious looks and eyebrows raised when the pair disappear behind closed doors. 

  
  
  
  
  


Ridiculous. Completely ridiculous. Yong eyed the lunch spread out before her. There were small portions of salmon onigiri, oysters, green salad, strawberries, and more food that Yong couldn’t and wouldn’t try to identify. 

“Are you going to do this everyday?” She nibbled on an onigiri. It was so good she bit a bigger bite. 

“Yes.” Byul munched on a leaf from the green salad. “We need to prepare your body for the… you know.” 

“You’re making me fat.” 

“Impossible. I counted calories.” 

“I could get used to this.” A sip of freshly squeezed fruit juice had Yong moaning and closing her eyes in ecstasy. However; her witch lunch buddy was gone when she opened her eyes. 

  
  
  
  
  


The night had gone well for most of the time. It was the third date that Yong had gone with Yi Xing. He was funny, respectful, and Taiwanese. It had gone well until he made a move to kiss her but she turned her head away before their lips connected. 

“Byul.” She called into the darkness. 

A shuffling was heard. Then, suddenly Yong wasn’t alone in her bed. 

“Ok. You better have a great explanation for this.” Byul yawned loudly. “I was having a very nice dream.” 

The mark on her pinky would sting whenever Yong is in danger, was anxious, or simply needed to be with her. 

“I messed up.” Yong sniffled. 

“What happened?” The bedside lamp lit up on its own revealing a crying Yong still in her date outfit. 

“You know Yi Xing, right?”

“Yes, date number 216. What did he do?” Byul’s face literally lit up. Yong used to freak out whenever the witch catches fire like that but she got so used to it that she could even touch the flames. 

“Nothing. I mean, he tried to kiss me and I wanted to kiss him too but I freaked out.” Yong watched as Byul’s face returned to normal. “He might not want to go on a date with me again.” 

“If that happens. Then, he is not worth it.” 

“I want to be comfortable with affection.” A fold of tissue paper floated towards Yong. She used it to dab her eyes dry. Moving closer to Byul she brushed her lips on the witch’s cheek. “Like that. Like you are.”

“I… uhhh… my mother was very affectionate.” Byul cleared her throat. She suddenly had the urge to choke on her own saliva but a calming spell brought her back to her right mind. 

“Tell me about her.”

“She was a great witch. The best. Taken too soon though.”

“Oh.” Yong slid her arm around Byul’s slight frame. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” 

They remained in their position in silence. Nobody dared to make a sound. Byul just let Yong hold her until they fell into slumber. 

  
  
  
  


The morning after wasn’t awkward at all. Yong woke up first. A little annoyed that Byul didn’t magic the make-up off her face. She poked at the sleeping witch carefully after she took a quick shower. 

“Don’t hex me.” She warned the slowly stirring witch. “I’m the mother of your child.”

“I hate you.” Byul’s voice was deeper and attractive. “What is it?”

“I’m hungry.” 

A groan and a moan escaped the sleepy-head’s lips. “Done.”

Yong half ran to the kitchen where a delicious breakfast was waiting for her. 

To nobody’s surprise, Byul came out fresh and bright from the bedroom just five minutes later. 

“So unfair.” Yong offered Byul a bite of her French toast. “You weren’t even coherent just a few minutes ago.” 

“I’m a powerful witch.” The smugness just came naturally for Byul. “I can’t let people see me weak.”

“Says the woman who was in the hospital with me a few months ago.” 

“That was a…,” Byul bit her lip, looking for an explanation. “It was a freak accident. If it weren’t you. I would have smote the person before they could even touch me.” 

“So…” It was Yong’s turn to be smug. “You let me see you while you were weak.” 

“Won’t happen again.” 

“You’re a quack.” Yong stood up, one hand holding on a half eaten French toast. “I need to go to work. See you at lunch.” 

In one fluid motion she swiped honey off Byul’s lips before giving her a quick peck on the same location. 

The surprised witch could only watch Yong’s retreating back in confusion. 


	6. Six Education

It was a complete surprise how Yonghee met Byul. It was a casual Wine Wednesday at Yong’s house. Jjing and Daebak, Byul’s familiar, were sleeping on the floor while the two women shared a glass of wine or two in front of Yong’s new electric fireplace. It was a gift from Hwasa, who had become fast friends with Yong after their shopping spree at the witch’s convention. 

The ringing of the doorbell made them both jump from their comfortable positions. 

Yong opened the door and let her older sister in. Like on autopilot, Yong poured Yonghee a glass of wine too. 

“Fortunately, I’ve pumped enough milk to last Wheein a day tomorrow.” Yonghee moaned after a sip of her wine. “This should be ok.” 

“You have a baby?” Byul’s face lit up. 

“Uhhhh… Byul, this is Yonghee, my older sister.” Yong frantically gestured towards her sister. “Yong, this is Byul. My… uhh… friend.” 

“From middle school?” It’s Yonghee’s turn to perk up. 

“Yes. Uhh. Unnie.” A sheepish smile appeared on Moonbyul’s face.

“I see.” Yonghee eyed Yong sharply, silently asking a question. 

“Yes. It’s her.” It must be the wine that caused Yong’s brain to fry and insinuate what she had insinuated. 

“Not bad. Not bad.” Yonghee plopped down on the sofa. “So Byul, I’ve heard that you’ve been taking care of my lil sister?” 

“You could say that.”

“Well, thank you then. I thought she’s gonna gather cobwebs down there. It’s good somebody’s cleaning house. Are you any good at it?”

“Oh my God, Unnie! What are you doing here anyway?” Yong interrupted the gross conversation.

“Can’t a sister check on you now?” 

The bickering effectively distracted Yonghee from asking Byul about gross things. She asked about Byul’s day job instead. To which Byul said she was an assistant Dean of a college at an ancient local university. It was true in a sense. She teaches magic at ‘The Council’ glamoured as a university. For the non-magic people she’s a Korean Literature professor. The backstory of how she met Yong again, at the publishing company, made sense. 

  
  
  
  
  


“Why does your sister think I’m your girlfriend?” Byul finally asked the question after a few days of deliberation. Yong stood very still while Byul zipped her dress up. Yi Xing asked her on another date. It would seem like their kiss-mishap didn’t turn him off.

“I’m sorry.” Yong faced the clearly distraught witch. “I panicked. She was asking why you want to have my child. I mean, I know you don’t like me like that! Don’t worry!” 

Byul bit her lower lip to keep from arguing. A quick calming spell and she’s ready to lie. 

“Right. Be careful on your date. Enjoy!” With that, the witch disappeared leaving Yong to pout alone. 

  
  
  
  
  


The kiss finally happened and Yong wanted nothing more than to tell Byul about it but the witch had texted her not to contact her for a couple of days due to “magic things”. Yong decided to sleep at her parent’s house with Jjing in tow. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Mom?” 

Mrs. Kim looked up from her knitting to find her youngest daughter pouting down at her. “What’s the matter, child?”

“Can I ask you something?” Yong sat down at the other end of the sofa that her mother was occupying. 

“Sure.” The knitting was forgotten. 

“Is it possible to fall in love with two people?” 

“Hmmm.” Mrs. Kim gathered her youngest daughter closer. “It depends. Are you falling in love with two people?” 

A beat. 

“Yes. I feel like I am.” 

“And those two people feel the same?”

“How will I know?” 

“Sometimes you just know.” It had been years since her daughter allowed her to hug for this long, Mrs Kim thought. “And sometimes you have to ask.” 

“Would you have asked?”

“How do you think I got your father?” The two women shared a laugh. The man of the house’s good memory hung between them. “Just keep seeing them both just be sure you’re not stringing anyone along.”

“Mom?”

“Yes, baby?” Yong might be a couple months shy of 31, but she’ll always be a baby to Mrs. Kim. 

“Is it ok if I sleep in your room tonight?” 

“Ofcourse, Dear.” 

  
  
  
  
  


The topic of the lecture on Magic Transference is one that’s controversial. The use of vessels had been a sensitive topic for hundreds of years. The ancients would vouch for its effectiveness while some radical young witches shake their heads on the practice and call it selfish, a desperate ploy to stay immortal. A witch could stay alive for as long as their magic didn’t reach a certain peak or if they weren’t murdered by magical means. When the peak of magic was reached the witch would then implode and ultimately cease to exist. This was supposedly a safeguard placed by the Gods so that witches won’t be seduced to achieve more power. For witches more power indeed was a liability than a blessing. 

Byul rubbed at her sharp nose bridge. One of her students had been reciting the wrong slice of witch history for the last ten minutes. Another student stood up and shamed his classmate to the whole class. Byul flicked her wrist and the boy turned into a bullfrog, croaking a broken tune. 

“The next one who interrupts a classmate while they’re probably shitting their pants here in front, will be turned into a cockroach.”

The class nodded their affirmations. 

Byul released the bullfrog from the spell. The show off apologized readily. 

She then made the book on her student’s hands turn to the right history page. 

“Start at number 5, please.” The boy was more than willing to follow. 

The rules of Magic Transference droned on in the background while Byul stared at the unopened messages on her phone. Most of them from Yong. Yong’s child would get a decent amount of magic from Byul. Even then she could feel the excess magic thrum under her skin. She’s still got ten, fifteen years, give or take. She could wait. She herself received it when she was just 8 years old. It would be vital for the vessel to be strong and raised properly before receiving magic for it wasn’t a plaything. It would be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. Her mother’s death could attest to that. She dismissed the class five minutes before the bell, to the kids’ delight. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Aren’t you going to answer that?” Dahee gestured to Byul’s vibrating phone. They’re in bed. They just had sex but cuddling is not their thing. 

“No.”

“Ok. Just know that the vibrations are not good for this old witch’s psyche. My migraine acts up because I’m old.” 

“Oh please, you’re 102. Don’t give me that age shit.” 

Dahee’s perfect porcelain smooth face creased into a frown. “I am more annoyed at your pouty face than the vibrations. Answer the damned call.” 

Byul took the phone and turned it off. She then turned to her bedmate to run a finger over her collarbone. The magic under her fingertips came out as vibrations as they made contact with skin. “Lemme show you a different kind of vibration.” 

Dahee’s nipples visibly pearled. Her voice came out husky and breathless. “Yes, please.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


When she finally came around to answering her phone. It was Hwasa on the other line. 

“Your Provider is losing her shit over missing you.” 

Byul’s gaze smoothed over the mark that she and Yong shared. It hadn’t burned in the last two weeks. 

“I’m working. She knows that.” 

“Unnie, it has been close to a year though. Why aren’t I still seeing a witchling? I mean with one snap of a finger you can coat her with glamour and she can get any man to want her enough to knock her up.”

“Did you say anything to her?”

“No. Of course not.” 

“Keep your mouth shut. You’re doing a good job.” 

“Ugh!” The phone gave off smoke. Hwasa must be frustrated. “I’m coming over to your place later. You can’t say no.” 

Byul could only listen to the click of the call ending. 

  
  
  
  
  


The choice of poison for the night is Fire Ale. The liquor came from Bulgaria and it looked like lava swirling in a bowl. 

“You told her what?” Hwasa took a swig of Fire Ale. 

“I told her the vessel needs to be conceived in love.” 

“You liar! Unnie, why would you do that?!”

“I don’t need to explain anything to you.” It’s Byul’s turn to drink. “I’m your superior.”

“Superior smearior. I will smite you with no hesitation if you don’t tell me why.” Hwasa showed her claws to Byul. 

A sigh broke the tense atmosphere. 

“I don’t want to leave her with nothing once I got the child.” Byul raked fingers over her soft hair. “I’d just erase any memory of it happening. She and her lover can go on with their lives.”

Hwasa looked at Byul like she grew an extra head. Byul had to check if she really did. There was no extra head. 

“You care for her.” Hwasa grabbed Byul by the chin so that the older woman would look at her. “Admit it.” 

Byul swat at clawed hands. “So what?”

“So that’s why you’ve been avoiding her. She sounds like she’s smitten with her new boyfriend.” 

“Boyfriend?”

“If you’ve read even just one of her million texts then you would have known.”

“I mean that’s good, right?”

“I don’t know, Unnie.” Hwasa flexed her hand and the claws disappeared. “She used to be Byul this, Byul that. Now it’s Byul this, Byul that, but also Yi Xing.” 

“That’s good.” Byul said but in reality she just didn’t feel so good. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on twitter!!! @tagalogmamamoo :)


	7. 24/7

Yongsun was happy. She’d recently got a job promotion. “Publishing Director” looked good on a personalized door sign outside her office. Her workload became somewhat more bearable than before. One could even say that it’s more relaxed. Maybe because she’s been doing it for a long time that decision making and other admin tasks seemed like a breeze for her. 

On other news, her love life flourished seemingly overnight. Yi Xing proved to be a worthwhile boyfriend. Ever supportive and understanding of her reservations when it came to connecting physically. He even resorted to asking permission to hold her hand every time. Yongsun found it really cute. 

She pondered on her good fortune while munching on her healthy lunch courtesy of her personal Witch. The spread would just appear on the table everyday at 11:58 AM. Not that she’s on a lookout for it or anything. Okay. She’s on a lookout for it. Anything that’s about the witch and from the witch, she’s got an interest in. 

She reached for her phone to send her 10th text message of the day to the witch. She might have been flooding the other woman with messages lately so she’s taking a step back. Clingy wasn’t her brand. She thought as she sent another text just as the 10th one was still sending. 

It’s killing her. She’s happy but she could be happier if only Byul wasn’t too busy magicking things and actually call her. It had been months of no communication. She missed her friend and closest confidant a lot. 

She knew that the witch would come running if Yong was in danger or in pain. So, she decided to do something unthinkable, she dipped her pinky on some boiling water in her freshly brewed coffee. The pain shocked her into slapping her table top. She accidentally hit her metal date stamper. The pain from that was worse than that from the hot water that her eyes actually watered. She was crying for a good while when she’s suddenly engulfed in a solid hug. Her mind went blank due to the sudden physical contact but it quickly eased when she sniffed in a familiar musky but clean scent. 

“Byul?” She ventured. Her voice was small and shaky. 

“Are you okay?” The deep husky feminine voice washed all over Yong like warm water. It was spoken so close to her ear that it tickled. She shivered. 

In that moment everything else was forgotten. The promotion. The boyfriend. The good food. All that mattered was the strength of the arms around her and the presence of the woman that she craved. 

“I am now.” Her own arms snaked around her witch. She pulled and pulled until she had the other woman sat on her lap. “Please don’t let go.” 

“I’m wrinkling your dress suit.” Said Moonbyul.

“I don’t care.”

“Ok.”

They stayed like that for a long time until one of Yong’s staff interrupted their reunion by knocking enthusiastically. Byul all but jumped up off Yong’s lap. She pretended to read a book while Yong talked to the interruptor. 

“Byul-ah,” Yong was wringing her hand, suddenly nervous. 

Byul hummed in response. 

The sigh that Yong let out was long and deep. “I’m sorry for summoning you like that. Were you busy?”

Color rose up to Byul’s cheek. She was trying to give Yong space to fall further in love with her boyfriend. She was just out with Dahee looking for clues about a personal mission that she was investigating for a long time. 

“Yes, I was busy.” 

“Hmmm.” Dead air hung between them. “I got a promotion. Also, Yi Xing and I are together now.” 

“Ah.” Byul looked anywhere but Yong while nodding. “That’s great! I told you we’d find him and congrats on the promotion.” 

“Thank you. Are you going to my house later?” 

“Yi Xing-ssi won’t mind?”

“No.” Yong scoffed. “It’s my house and besides he’s in Taiwan right now. I’d like to have dinner with you. To celebrate my promotion, you know.” 

Byul nodded. “Can’t we just eat out? I hate doing the dishes.” 

“Ok. Let’s pretend you don’t just magic the dishes clean when I’m not looking.” An involuntary smile graced Yong’s face. “You just wanna eat out.” 

“Well. Yeah.” The smile was contagious. They found themselves smiling like idiots at each other. “See ya later, Yong.” 

“Dress nicely, ok?”

And with that the witch’s gone. 

  
  
  
  


The restaurant was on the expensive side of the city. Men with expensive wrist watches and women in glamorous dresses all but paraded in front of them. Byul pretty much felt like some pretender amidst the posh crowd. 

“You didn’t tell me I’d be dining with the President of South Korea?” Byul joked. 

“I told you to dress nicely.” Yong; however, was a vision in her short white dress with bishop sleeves. Her hair fell just above her shoulder in an elegant mid-length cut. “You look ok though.” 

Byul looked down at her shirt and jeans ensemble and shook her head. She waved her hand and the outfit turned into a black and white cut-out suit. Her New York Knicks hat disappeared to show off her straight brunette locks. Black leather gloves completed the outfit. 

“Lucky that we’re still inside the car.” Yong’s eyes raked her companion up and down. An appreciative whistle accented her compliment. She found herself looking at her companions mouth. Byul was saying something but Yong wasn’t hearing anything. She was mesmerised by how bright Byul’s eyes were. At how her nose crinkled when she’s animatedly talking. At how her mouth moved so sensually when forming words. 

“Yongsun-ssi!” A snapping sound brought her back to the present. Byul was snapping her fingers close to her face. “You looked like you were under a spell. I should know I’ve put enough people under.” 

“Uhhh.” Because she had run out of reasons except that she’s smitten, Yong simply exited the car and threw the keys to a waiting valet. 

It wasn’t a date so why was her hand clammy when she reached for the passenger door handle? Byul seemed surprised at her gallant behavior but thanked her anyway. 

“What’s up with you? Why are you jittery?” Byul placed one hand over the small of her back. It made Yong jump at the contact. It’s odd she was normally comfortable with Byul’s small touches. But that night it had been a teeny bit electric. 

“I’m fine.” She stopped walking and pressed a hand over her heart. “Just excited to eat overpriced food.” 

“You’re funny.” Byul side-eyed her companion and took one of Yong’s clammy hands to pull her inside. “Ew. You have swamp hands.” 

Yong noted that Byul didn’t let go. 

  
  
  
  


The five course meal was excellent at Jungsik. Yong didn’t know what went in her mouth for most of the meal. The sea urchin dish, maybe she’s not overly enthused with, but it was overall amazing. She was so happy she even ordered an expensive bottle of champagne. 

It came chilled along with a good-looking waiter waiting to pour at a given signal. She looked over at Byul who was busy looking at the waiter. 

“He looks so much like TVXQ Yunho.” Byul whispered. 

“Please pour us both a glass, then you can leave.” Yong threw the waiter a sneer-like smile out of jealousy. 

The champagne tasted sweet and bubbles teased Yong’s mouth. Drinks had no real effect on her. Meaning that she had no interest in them. She didn’t get the appeal, but now with the carefully chilled to perfect temperature champagne sliding like bubbling silk on her tongue, she might be getting the appeal just a bit. 

“Slow down, woman.” Byul caressed her arm in a gentle warning. “These delicious expensive shit can be deceiving.” 

“You’d drive me home right?” Inexplicably, her tongue felt thick. “Who halved the bottle?” 

Byul rolled her beautiful eyes at her. “You, Genius.” 

“Is your tongue a bit numb too?” She had to know. 

“Actually, yes. It’s that good.” Byul answered as she took care of the bill with her black card. It’s supposedly on Yong but the woman had a different smile on. A drunk smile. Lightweight. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


“I asked the waiter if I could keep the glass.” The air was fresher outside the restaurant. Yong had her head leaned against Byul’s.

“Yes, you did. And he let you.” Byul raised the restaurant's classy doggy bag. Inside was champagne and a champagne flute. “What am I gonna do with you?” 

“Take me home.” Seemingly sober, Yong grabbed Byul by the collar of her expensive suit. “Take me home now.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


They found themselves on Yong’s bed sipping on champagne; sharing one champagne flute. The almost finished champagne bottle rested on the nightstand. 

“Best night ever.” Yong kicked off her heels. “It’s like magic. One moment we were outside the restaurant, another moment we’re here. On my bed.” 

Byul would want to argue about it being really magic, but she could feel the effects of champagne loosening her up too. She let it slide. 

“Why were you staying away?” Yong solemnly asked. 

Byul’s head whipped so fast to look at Yong but Yong was faster. She hovered over Byul on the bed. Trapping her between braced arms. 

“I… I’m sorry.” Was all Byul could say. 

“I missed you. I always miss you. Even when you just go for a walk with Jjing. How dare you stay away longer this time?” 

“I thought you'd want to spend more time with Yi Xingssi.” 

“You’re right.” Yong moved from her aggressive position on top of Byul and settled beside her instead. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to spend more time with you too. We kissed you know, Oppa and I, but that’s all. I’m scared to do more. What if it hurts?” 

“It takes time. It’s ok. Love takes time.” 

“I have no experience.” 

“Maybe but just ask him to take things slow. Just kiss some more and see where it goes.”

Yong had a spur of inspiration mixed with a few flutes of liquid courage. She faced Byul and caressed her face. “You’re right. Maybe we should take things slow and see where it goes.”

Their lips met in a tentative kiss. Byul tasted like champagne. Intoxicating. Heedy. Delicious. Then like permission Byul opened her mouth to receive Yong’s tongue. Testing but teasing at the same time. Somebody moaned and it broke the bubble of uncertainty. Yong found herself flat on her back with Byul heavy on top of her pressing kisses on her neck then back up to her lips. It felt heavenly. 

Then the kisses turned dirty. All open-mouthed and wet. Grace flew out the window as they both fumbled to touch skin. Byul’s suit jacket was the first to come off. She wasn’t wearing anything but goosebumps underneath when Yong ran her hand from Byul’s neck to one of her modest breasts. Byul’s nipple instantly hardened at the long awaited touch. Another moan tore out of Byul’s mouth. The sound was addicting and Yong wanted to hear it over and over. They switched positions easily and Yong zeroed on her uncovered prize. She latched on the nipple that she teased. Sometimes sucking, sometimes licking. 

“I’m losing my mind.” Byul groaned. The sensations that Yong’s tongue created went straight into her need. She felt herself getting wet and wetter by each tongue stroke. She pulled Yong into another hot kiss hoping to ease the fire that threatened to engulf her that early in the game. It only made things worse, Yong’s hand found her pant’s button and opened them with a snap. Strong fingers went straight to her wetness. A gasp tore out of her lips when the first tentative stroke to her clit rocked her world. 

“Yong, Yong. Take it easy.” Byul pulled busy fingers from her crotch. Their kisses went on slow but not without heat. 

“But I want you. I want you so much.” They pretty much sobered a bit to a point but still a little lightheaded. She heard a crash. The champagne flute fell to the floor in pieces but she couldn’t care less. She had Byul in her arms. Obviously willing. She wanted everything. And Byul gave it to her. 

Her dress disappeared with just one touch of Byul’s hand. Then she was worshipped. She tried to watch Byul feast on her exposed breasts but it felt so good her eyes rolled back. She felt little electric currents when Byul’s hands and mouth skimmed her taut stomach. She’s sure it’s magic. Just like it’s magic how she’s not wearing any underwear anymore. It’s magic how undeniably turned on she was. Byul’s tongue was magic as it rolled around her clit. Her hips bucked to meet Byul’s mouth. Two hands cupped her buttocks and pulled her closer to pleasure. She spread her legs wider, wanting to feel more. Pretending would be pointless, so Yong let herself voice out how beautiful it felt. Her moans were loud and vulgar even to her own ears but she couldn’t help it when she was being eaten so good. She felt fingers teasing close to her wet entrance that it didn't come as a surprise at all when one of them entered her. She bit her own lip to keep from crying out but she still did. 

“Byul-ah.” 

“Does it hurt?” 

The finger stilled inside her. 

“No. Yes. But I like it. Keep going.” She felt the finger move slowly and Byul went up again to kiss her mouth reassuringly. “One more Byorie. Please.” 

Another finger slid in her and split her deliciously. They kissed as she got used to the burn. Until the burn turned into something more comfortable, more pleasurable. 

“I’m gonna move now.” Byul the ever considerate lover whispered in Yong’s ear. 

“You’re so sexy when you’re being nice.” 

Then she did move and Yong’s mind went blank. Nothing mattered but the pistoning of deft fingers hitting the right spots and the sensation of Byul’s tongue on her sensitive breasts. For the nth time that night Yong’s eyes rolled back as she screamed out an orgasm. 

  
  
  
  
  


“Not bad for your first time?” The aftermath was a pure glow. 

Yong rolled her eyes at Byul. “You know you were good.” 

“You weren't bad yourself. I nearly peed at how good you were.” Byul answered with a deep chuckle. Yong returned the favor when she came about her orgasm induced mini-coma. 

“Oh shut up. Seriously, shut up.”

“You should sleep now.”

She wasn’t really sleepy but she’s suddenly very tired. She suspected it was the witch’s doing before blacking out. 


	8. Eight Ways to Sunday

Somebody’s cooking breakfast. Yong could smell fish being grilled. It’s a nice way to wake up. But it wasn’t the only surprise she woke up to. It’s strange that she’s still in her last night’s dress. She could swear she wasn’t wearing anything when she fell asleep. She pondered on it some more while washing her face and putting on casual clothes. 

  
  
  


Soft lo-fi music was playing when she stepped into the kitchen. The smell of a hearty breakfast complete with an army of banchans filled the kitchen. She checked them out one by one while Byul actually washed dishes. 

  
  
  


“Good morning, drunkie.” Byul greeted. “Where do you want me to put this?”

  
  
  


It was the champagne flute. Yong gasped. She could swear it broke last night during sex. 

  
  
  


“You fixed it.”

  
  
  


“No. I didn’t.” Byul pouted seemingly confused. 

  
  
  


“It broke last night when we were…” Yong trailed off. 

  
  
  


“Huh? When? You passed out in the car last night.” 

  
  
  


Yong narrowed her eyes into slits. Her vagina begged to differ. She could still feel the rawness from last night's activities, but if Byul wanted to pretend that it never happened, so be it. 

  
  
  


“Right. Just put it inside that cupboard.” 

  
  
  


They ate their breakfast in relative silence with Yong only answering when asked. 

  
  
  


“See you at lunch. If you’re planning on ditching me. Don’t do it. ” It came out sterner than Yong expected, but she was too pissed to take it back. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Byul knew she messed up. She couldn’t really put all the blame on champagne because halfway during sex she’d sobered up. 

  
  
  


“I messed up.” Was the first thing she said when Hwasa picked up. 

  
  
  


“Unnie, what did you do?” In a blink Hwasa was by her side. Her phone was still stuck by her ear. It felt silly. They stood there looking at each other hearing the other’s heavy breathing through their phones. 

  
  
  


Byul closed her eyes and gave in to the urge to laugh. Hwasa’s laugh joined hers. It eased some of the heaviness she was carrying. 

  
  
  


“We looked like idiots.” Byul lowered her phone, placed it on top of her work desk. She could breathe a little easier now. 

  
  
  


“Well one of us surely is one.” Hwasa side eyed the older woman. “Tell me, what happened?”

  
  
  


“I slept with Yong.” 

  
  
  


Hwasa disappeared as fast as she appeared. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Byul was taking her afternoon tea when Hwasa appeared again. 

  
  
  


“Ok, I’m ready now. You slept with Yong unnie. Continue.”

  
  
  


“Where have you been?”

  
  
  


“Yong unnie’s. I checked on her. She doesn’t look like she’s breaking down so I returned. Don’t worry. She didn’t see me. I was literally a fly on the wall.” Hwasa said matter of factly like it’s everyday that she stalks people. 

  
  
  


Byul rolled her eyes but prepared tea for her surprise guest anyway. 

  
  
  


“She took me out to dinner. We had a few drinks. Then, we had sex.”

  
  
  


“So,” Hwasa was putting two and two together. She blew on her tea. “Where was the part you messed up, Unnie? Are you two together now?” 

  
  
  


“You know I can’t do that to her. It’s too dangerous.” Byul pulled out her tablet. “Look. This happened a few nights ago when Dahee unnie and I went back from the archives.” 

  
  
  


Hwasa watched a CCTV footage that recorded Byul just outside her door carrying large record scrolls. One of the scrolls dropped. Byul instantly went down on one knee to retrieve it. Right then, a lightning bolt hit where her head was just a second ago. Ever quick on her spells Byul created a barrier around her while looking around. 

  
  
  


“We found no one and nothing. Not even a trace of residual magic when the Council Police came.” 

  
  
  


Byul’s mother was found dead without any trace of magic which is odd because a witch could only be killed via magical means. The tense atmosphere was broken when Byul’s phone rang. 

  
  
  


Yongsun. Mouthed Byul to Hwasa.

  
  
  


“Yes, of course I’m coming over. Can it be tomorrow? I’m with Hwasa right now. We are working on some ancient scrolls. You wanna talk to her?” Byul passed the phone to Hwasa who readily chatted up her favorite non magic practitioner. 

  
  
  


The phone call ended and Hwasa sighed when she handed the phone back to Byul. 

  
  
  


“So you think that the recent incident is connected to you reinvestigating your mother’s death?” 

  
  
  


“Yes and I don’t want to involve Yong more than she already is.” Byul washed her face with her hands. “I shouldn't have waited this long. I should have gotten the child before reopening the investigation. I should’ve just let Yong get inseminated and be done with it.”

  
  
  


“Why didn’t you? And don’t give me that crap about wanting her to find true love. You wouldn’t be bonking her if that’s the only reason.”

  
  
  


Byul was silent for a while. “Don’t worry. I promise it’s a one time thing.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The flowers were lovely and so was the cake. Yi Xing was the one who went away but Yong was the one being treated with gifts when he came back. He also brought her various boxes of pineapple cakes, nougats, and fruit jellies. 

  
  
  


“He is too perfect.” Yonghee bit on a pineapple cake that they were having with their tea. “What’s the catch?”

  
  
  


Yong pushed at her own pineapple cake. She couldn’t swallow any of the cake with how guilty she felt. 

  
  
  


“I slept with Byul!” She finally blurted out. 

  
  
  


“It happens. I told you never get in touch with an ex too early after break up.” Yonghee continued eating as if Yong didn’t just break down in front of her. “When was this? Are you telling Yi Xing?”

  
  
  


“A week ago.” Even Yong’s tea tasted like wash rags after her confession. “She’s pretending it didn’t happen.” 

  
  
  


“So, you’re not telling Yi Xing?”

  
  
  


“I don’t know how.” Yong groaned. 

  
  
  


“Byul was at your house yesterday when I called. What are you doing, Yong?” 

  
  
  


“Playing along. If she wants to pretend it didn’t happen then it didn’t.” Yong busied herself making faces at her niece just to avoid looking at her sister. 

  
  
  


“You’ve come a long way, sis.” Yonghee picked Wheein up and blew raspberries against her neck. The resulting happy squeals brought back the good mood. “A year or so ago, you can barely interact with people. Now you are caught in a love triangle of some sort. It’s sort of magical. By the way, has that mysterious girl from before made an appearance again?”

  
  
  


“No, not anymore.” Yong quickly shook her head in denial. She’s not about to tell her sister she’s now in cahoots with the same exact mysterious girl.

  
  
  


“That’s good.” The path was long and arduous for Yong before getting a bit better. Yonghee believed that her sister now actually got a chance for a normal life. “You know, Yong, the fact that you slept with Byulssi might mean something. Be honest with yourself at least, if you can’t with others.”

  
  
  


“Don’t worry. It’s a one time thing.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It didn’t turn out to be a one time thing. The bed shook with a shudder when Byul’s back collided with the headboard due to the force of the kiss. They were bickering about dog food one moment then hotly making out the next. One thing led to another and it ended up with Yong two fingers deep in Byul. 

  
  
  


The sex usually began in a fight. One time it was about dog food, the next it was about baby names, still another was about who pays for pizza delivery. 

  
  
  


One thing remained constant. They never talk about it after. 

  
  
  


Yong was absolutely going crazy over it. 

  
  
  


“What’s wrong babe?” Yi Xing paused the movie they’re watching. It’s a feel-good animation film so there’s absolutely no reason why Yong would be crying. 

  
  
  


“Sorry. I just remembered something happy.”

  
  
  


“Ah, tears of joy. You’re too cute sometimes. I can’t take it.” Yi Xing kissed her tear-stained cheeks. “Oops sorry.” 

  
  
  


“It’s fine.” Yong framed his face with her hands and initiated a kiss. They kissed comfortably until hands started to wander. Yong wanted to forget about the memories of another person that her boyfriend’s tender touches evoked. She wanted to block the face and the voice that she saw when she closed her eyes. 

  
  
  


Yi Xing moved to turn off the only lamp still lit but Yong stopped him. She’d see and feel another person in the dark. 

  
  
  


“Please leave it on.” She whispered against his neck as she let it happen. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Yong called up Yonghee after Yi Xing left. Her sister picked up after fifteen rings. 

  
  
  


“You are so annoying.” Her sister greeted her with derision. “I was taking a nap just in case Wheein decided to have a concert later at midnight or dawn. I swear my child is going to be a singer. Such strong lungs. Whatchu want?”

  
  
  


“Nothing. I’m just so confused right now. My head hurts.”

  
  
  


“Serves you right for being a cheat to be honest.” Trust Yonghee to tell it like it was. “Wanna sleep over here?” 

  
  
  


“Yes.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Do I tell Byul that Xing and I are…” Yong hesitated. She picked up an enchanted top and inspected it. It has an angelic face carved on it. Then it winked at her and she quickly put it back on the shelf. 

  
  
  


“That you and Xing oppa are?” It’s a perfect day to buy herbs for spells and Hwasa decided to bring Yong along. She genuinely enjoyed the other woman’s company. Such a relief from her all-knowing witch friends. Yong could still be surprised and Hwasa appreciates it. 

  
  
  


“Are doing girlfriend and boyfriend things.” 

  
  
  


“She’s gonna be thrilled, I’m sure.” Hwasa finished measuring a kilo of dried pink nightshade flowers for a sleeping potion. A sleep- indefinitely potion given to ailing or too old familiars when their time comes. 

  
  
  


There were a number of children’s accessories at the shop. Yong couldn’t help and buy some. 

  
  
  


“Like how does this work? Do we share custody of the child? Do we co-parent?” 

  
  
  


At that moment Hwasa wished she could drink the sleep-indefinitely potion. 

  
  
  


“Yes,Unnie. Something like that.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Byul wasn’t thrilled at all. She spent a couple hours in the Break Room after Hwasa let it slip. The horrendous sounds from the Break Room frightened some of the Council employees, an officer came to soundproof the area. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Yong and Yi Xing broke up in the fall. The leaves fell around them as they said their final goodbyes. It was full of apologies and tears.

  
  
  


Yi Xing was due to leave for Taiwan for good and he asked Yong to come with him. It was something she simply cannot do. There are things and people she couldn’t just leave behind. The breakup was mutual and amicable. 

  
  
  


“I’ll always be your friend. Always.” Yi Xing kissed Yong one last time before going his way.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Wine Wednesday was a quiet affair. Byul propped her feet on Yong’s coffee table while she read Witches’ Weekly. 

  
  
  


Yong busied herself working on editing training materials for the publishing staff. It wasn’t due til the next week but she liked being on top of her work. Jjing-jjing snoozed at her feet. 

  
  
  


“Byul-ah.” 

  
  
  


Byul looked up. Eyebrow raised in question. 

  
  
  


“Xing and I broke up.”

  
  
  


Calmly, Byul placed the magazine on the coffee table and laced her fingers together. “Why would you do that?”

  
  
  


“Do what?”

  
  
  


“Make a stupid decision like breaking up.”

  
  
  


“We…Look, it was a mutual decision.”

  
  
  


“But he loves you. You’ve been together for most of this year.” Byul washed her face with her hands. “He was the best of all the men on the list. And more importantly, he loves you.” 

  
  
  


“I know you don’t care about me but at least pretend. Coz it was pretty recent and I’m still hurting.” Yong wasn’t happy with the witch’s tone of voice. Wasn’t her feelings valid?

  
  
  


“Ha! I don’t care about you? Wow. Ok. SURE!” Byul couldn’t wrap her head around the accusation. Yi Xing was the best option for Yong when the going gets tough. There was nobody Byul could trust with Yong’s care other than the guy. “It’s recent? Then maybe, you should call him and get back together!”

  
  
  


“I don’t wanna get back together.” 

  
  
  


“What am I gonna do now?” Byul was so sure about her plan. She didn’t want to leave Yong alone while she battled whatever she’d have to battle. 

  
  
  


“If it’s all the same for you, I’d start dating all the remaining men on your list.”

  
  
  


Emotions were on a high as the two women faced off. Jjing-jjing had long gone to the safety of Yong’s bedroom.

  
  
  


“That’s not what I meant.”

  
  
  


“Don’t worry. I’d have that baby in no time.”

  
  
  


The mention of the baby calmed Byul down. 

  
  
  


“That’s not what I meant either. I thought you were sure about him?” 

  
  
  


“I was sure about him.” Yong’s voice came out smaller than intended. She could feel her heartbeat thumping high on her throat. Her head hurts. 

  
  
  


“What happened then?” Byul’s tone was accusatory once again. 

  
  
  


YOU and I. We HAPPENED! Yong wanted to scream at the stupid woman . Byul and her happened and suddenly she felt like she could let go of everything. But her head was swimming and her stomach felt queasy. She was in no mood to argue. 

  
  
  


“I’m turning in for the night. You could let yourself out.” Yong stood up too abruptly and she felt herself sway a little. The last thing she saw was Byul's panicked face before she fainted.


	9. Nine Slash Sx

Byul was the last person Yong saw before passing out and also the first when she came to. The witch was sleeping soundly next to her hospital bed, holding her hand. It was sweet even though they’d just spent the better of the morning fighting. Yong moved her hand slightly to alert Byul. And as expected, Byul shot up so abruptly at the movement that sparks flew from her like tiny fireworks. 

“You are that excited that I woke up?” Yong teased.

“Yes.” Came the shy answer from a blushing Byul. She sat down again. “Do you feel ok?”

“Yes, I do.” 

“I’m sorry for upsetting you earlier.” 

“As you should be, but it’s fine. Do you know what's wrong with me?” Yong noted that she wasn’t attached to an IV drip so her condition might not be grave. 

“The lab results came back and it was anemia.” Byul wrung her hands. “You came to, earlier, but I kind of magicked you to sleep again so you could rest some more. Doctor said it’s dehydration, your menstration, plus stress that caused your low blood pressure. I’m sorry again, I didn’t take care of you enough.” 

“Stop it. You’re not my mom.” Yong took Byul’s hand to give it a kiss. 

“You’re mom was here earlier, but she stepped out just now to give your sister a call.” Byul sighed. Her blush deepened. “She gave me an earful for not taking care of you. And she’s right. I promised to take care of you in preparation for the baby and I failed. She also uhhh thinks I’m your girlfriend.” 

“She does huh?” Yong remembered the conversation she had with her Mom about her conflicting feelings about two people. But she also told her mom that Xing was her boyfriend. 

“Rather, she wishes I’m your girlfriend.” Milky skin turned a deeper red. 

“Ah.” It was Yong’s turn to blush. “Moms.” 

“My mom would have loved you too.” Yong saw Byul squeeze her eyes shut as if she said something she shouldn’t have. 

“Yeah? And why is that?” 

“Well… She’s fond of cute strays who need to be taken care of.” The infuriating Byul-smirk was back and Yong just had to roll her eyes. 

“You just had to do it.” Yong squeezed Byul's hand hard so that the witch yelped in pain. “Tell me more about your mom.” 

A small hospital table appeared in front of Yong laden with healthy Korean food and drinks. Byul helped her sit up. 

“You better be prepared coz she’s my favorite topic” 

Yong smiled brightly, it rivaled the setting sun outside the window. “Bring it on.” 

  
  
  
  


Somewhere along the lines of avoiding having strange feelings like falling in love, Byul felt it bloom. She could tell by the way her heart just stopped the moment Yong fell in a heap at her feet, unconscious. It’s there by the way her face broke into a smile when Yong showed interest in finding out more about her mother. By the giddy feeling she almost couldn’t contain when Yong asked her to stay the night when they poofed their way back to Yong’s house when she’s discharged from the hospital. Not for any hanky-panky, but just for the comfort of being in each other’s arms when sleep claimed them. It was the last thing she needed at the moment; but it was like the surge of receiving first magic: unstoppable and exhilarating. But, unlike magic the feeling was unwelcomed and should be stopped. Nonetheless, Byul spent the night wrapped in a Yong scented warmth, secured in the cocoon of their unshared feelings. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Yong noticed the way Byul rejected a call for the nth time that evening. 

“You should really answer that.”

“It’s nothing.” Byul continued on reading up on some recent findings about her mother’s case while enjoying some lunch with her favorite person. “Just a colleague.” 

“Well, your colleague seems to have very important things to say. They called like ten times already.” Yong snapped her own laptop shut. She’s been spending her lunchtime working. The publishing house that she spent her life working on hit a jackpot with a title. It was dubbed as the next “Harry Potter” and work had been coming in non-stop. Byul, fearing Yong would overwork herself had been almost obsessed with taking care of her. She’s never absent during breakfast, lunch, and even dinner; checking on Yong more than her own mother. “You can relax, you know. I’m gonna be fine. You’re gonna have that baby in no time.” 

“For the last time. I don’t care if you are gonna have the baby.” The mention of the baby annoyed Byul a little. Her voice might have raised an octave.

Taken aback, Yong faced her personal witch. 

“Then, what are you hanging around me for?” 

The question visibly shook the young witch. Her mouth slacked in an attempt to justify her hovering. Her phone rang just in time and she wasted no time snatching it up. 

“Dahee unnie? Sorry, I was swamped with work. Yes, I can come over.” 

And just like that she disappeared. 

  
  
  
  
  


It’s not the first time that Byul got around Dahee’s house but it’s the first time she’d looked around. The house was immaculately decorated, perfect on every angle just like the owner. One odd thing though, no single picture of Dahee’s ward could be seen. 

“Where’s your ward?” Curiosity got to her. 

“My ward?” Dahee looked confused for second. 

“Yeah, the one who inherited your magic?” 

“Oh. Her. She’s uhm… an adult now. Probably busy spending my money somewhere.” The statement was obviously an uncomfortable one. Dahee covered her mouth. “Let’s cut to the chase tonight shall we? Bedroom?” 

It was Byul’s turn to get uncomfortable. 

“About that. I came here to end things.” 

As if Byul said something completely ridiculous, Dahee threw back her head and laughed. “What are you talking about?” 

“I mean. This arrangement can’t go on.”

“What do you mean can’t go on?” Dahee was visibly angry. “Do you want to label things? Do you wanna get into a relationship of some kind? Well, then. Fine.” 

It wasn’t meant to get complicated. Byul washed her face with her hands. 

“Unnie, look, I like someone.” 

“So? I like a lot of people. What does it have to do with sex?!” A lamp shattered and put itself together again. Both their attention fell on the lamp. The crystal mended itself piece by piece and it was a marvel to watch. “I’ve been around a long time, Moon Byul Yi, what is this really about? Was that little mortal mochi better than me?” 

Byul almost had a whiplash with how fast her attention got stolen from the lamp. 

“What do you know about her? Have you been following me?” It wouldn’t be a surprise, Dahee is the council’s greatest investigator after all. 

“I know more than you’ll ever guess.” And with one swish of Dahee’s hand, Byul found herself outside under a steady downpour of the older witch’s doing. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Jinnie, I messed up.” 

Hyejin ushered a very wet Byul inside her fairyland inspired home. Some of her decorations were running around so much that she had to coax them into place before settling her guest in. 

“Rocco, please stop messing with the fountain and go stay by your fruit bowl.” A blue fairy decor pouted and kicked the air before climbing up the table and embracing the fruit bowl he was originally set on. “I really need to stop buying things from The Emporium. I should borrow Yongsun unnie’s Ikea card and go crazy there.” 

“Yeah, maybe, you should.” Byul stood still while Hyejin magicked her clothes dry. She could do it herself but she was too deep in her own thoughts to bother. “I messed up with Dahee unnie.” 

“Oh yeah? You broke up? What’s up with our Korean Brumhilda? You finally realized how controlling she was?” 

“We’re not even together. There was nothing to break.”

“Not what i've heard at the conventions. Maybe for you it was nothing but Miss Universe had been running her mouth telling people that she’ll soon be the Council’s First Lady.” Hyejin filed her nails with a nail file that floats on its own. “She’s ambitious.”

Just then Moonbyul’s phone chimed with a text. It’s Dahee asking if she’s back to her senses yet and if she was, she could come back. 

“I told you so.” The nail file was replaced by a bottle of nail polish, steadily coating Hyejin’s nails blood red. “She’s trying to get you to go back to her, vulnerable as ever. Why are heads of things usually bottoms in the bedroom?” 

“I’m not even Malefica Supera yet and I am not a bottom!”

“Oh come on.” Hyejin's eyes rolled back. “Maybe, we should ask Yong unnie.” 

“Ask me what?” Yong balanced a tray with bowls of bingsu and placed them on the table. Rocco abandoned his fruit bowl and helped stir in some syrup on the bingsu. “What’s a Malefica Supera.” 

“Like a Mayor unnie, each city has one, but more powerful.” Hyejin flicked Rocco playfully and started eating her bingsu. “So, is Byul unnie a bottom?” 

Yong colored as red as the strawberries on her sweet red bean bingsu. 

“You don’t need to answer.” Byul swatted at Hyejin, the younger witch dodged it just in time. 

“Ok, but I have a question.” A deep breath. “Who is Dahee?” 

It was Moonbyul’s turn to blush. “She uh… is the investigator I hired for my mom’s reopened case.” 

An eyebrow raised and stayed there. Yong picked at her bingsu. 

“She’s been calling you at odd times at night. You remember that time she called you while we were-“ 

Byul jumped out of her chair to cover Yong’s mouth. 

“She’s very thorough. She on-call 24/7.” 

“I think you need to talk about this alone.” Hyejin picked her bowl of icy sweet Korean sorbet and started for the door. “Come on, Rocco. Let’s go explore our garden.” 

The said decor clung on to Hyejin's offered hand. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


“So?” A time had passed since Hyejin walked out on them. “talk.” 

“She’s an investigator and friend.” Byul looked Yong in the eye. 

“A friend. Ok but,” There was an icy quality at how Yong kept a straight face. “did you sleep with her?”

Too bad there wasn’t a hole to crawl into, Byul thought. 

“Yes. Is that a problem?” 

Yong’s straight face remained frozen in seeming nonchalance and she nodded her head rapidly, lips pressed together as if in understanding. 

“Nice talk.” The still-straight-faced Yong looked at her watch. “Oh, look at the time. Time to leave. And don’t follow me.” 

Byul sighed as she looked on at Yong’s form, slowly getting smaller as she walked away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got s worded on twitter for posting fancams and now can’t find my moots 🥺 be friends w me? @talongmamamoo


End file.
